Texas Doc Accused of Illegally Accessing Child Health Records

The case against a Texas physician accused of illegally obtaining children's health records has been unsealed, according to federal prosecutorsopens in a new tab or window.

The four-count indictment against Eithan Haim, MD, was filed in May. Haim has been charged with allegedly violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) when he leaked informationopens in a new tab or window about Texas Children's Hospital continuing its gender-affirming care program after it said it had been halted.

The indictment alleges that Haim obtained personal information, such as patient names, treatment codes, and the attending physician, from the hospital's electronic health record system without authorization, and that he obtained the data under false pretenses, with intent to cause malicious harm to the hospital. Federal prosecutors said Haim shared the information with a conservative activist, according to the Associated Pressopens in a new tab or window.

Haim was previously a resident at Baylor College of Medicine and had rotations at Texas Children's that had ended in 2021, according to the unsealed indictmentopens in a new tab or window. In April 2023, Haim allegedly requested to re-activate his login at the hospital to access data for pediatric patients who were not under his care.

"As a result of Haim's actions, Texas Children's Hospital resulted in financial loss, medical delays in previously scheduled patients as well as threats and harm to its patients and esteemed physicians," the indictment stated. "In furtherance of his malicious intent, Haim obtained unauthorized HIPAA protected information and intentionally contacted a media outlet to grossly mischaracterize Texas Children's Hospital's medical procedures in order to damage the reputation of Texas Children's Hospital and its physicians and to promote his own personal agenda."

Haim's legal counsel Ryan Patrick, JD, of Haynes Boone, said in a statement that "Dr. Haim maintains that he has done nothing wrong. The government's facts are wrong, and their timeline is wrong. Eithan looks forward to having his day in court."

A Baylor College of Medicine spokesperson confirmed via email that Haim had completed his residency there, and referred any questions to Texas Children's Hospital, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If convicted, Haim faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 maximum possible fine, according to federal prosecutors.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/features/110721

Snitches Give Stitches: Oregon Moves To Make Reporting Microaggressions Mandatory For Doctors

 by Jonathan Turley,

There is a controversy in Oregon over a proposed change in the ethics rule from the Oregon Medical Board. At issue is the use of “microaggressions” to discipline doctors and to make reporting such transgressions mandatory for all doctors. It seems before you can give stitches, you have to join snitches under one of the most ambiguous categories of prescribed speech.

I have been a critic of microaggression rules on college campuses and discuss this trend in my book out this week, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage. In past debates over this category of offensive speech, I have objected that it is hopelessly vague and highly controversial.

That ambiguity creates a threat to free speech through a chilling effect on speakers who are unsure of what will be considered microaggressive. Terms ranging from “melting pot” to phrases like “pulling oneself up by your own bootstraps” have been declared racist.  Some of those have been identified by Columbia professor Derald Wing Sue, cited by Oregon’s state government as a “microaggressions expert.”

Professor Sue considers statements like “Everyone can succeed if they just work hard enough!” as an example of a microaggression. Sue’s work on “microassaults,” “microinsults,” and “microinvalidations” are being effectively adopted by the Board.

Notably, when I have objected to this category, advocates have insisted that they are merely voluntary and instructive, not mandatory. I have long argued that they are used in a mandatory fashion by triggering investigations of professors and would inevitably be made mandatory.

That appears to be happening in Oregon. A couple of conservative sites have covered the controversy.

Under the new ethics rule from the Oregon Medical Board, “unprofessional conduct” (over which a doctor can lose his or her license) will include microaggressions:

“In the practice of medicine, podiatry, or acupuncture, discrimination through unfair treatment characterized by implicit and explicit bias, including microaggressions, or indirect or subtle behaviors that reflect negative attitudes or beliefs about a non-majority group.”

The new section “J” ranks microaggressions with fraud, sexual assault, and ordering unnecessary or harmful surgeries.

Oregon Medical Board states that

“The proposed rule amendments update the definition of “unprofessional conduct” to include discrimination in the practice of medicine, podiatry, and acupuncture, which would make discrimination a ground for discipline. The proposed rule may favorably impact racial equity by making discrimination a ground for discipline for OMB licensees. It is not known how the other proposed rule amendments will impact racial equity in the state.”

The incorporation of microaggressions under the new ethic rules is precisely what some of us have been warning about for years. As is often the case, activists begin by insisting that language monitoring is purely instructional and optional before codifying those rules in mandatory terms.

We have seen the same trajectory in other areas like land acknowledgments where the line between the optimal and the mandatory is hard to discern. As discussed in my book:

“What began as voluntary statements have become either expressly or implicitly mandatory…George Brown College in Toronto requires faculty and students alike to agree to a land acknowledgment statement to even gain access to virtual classrooms. While such statements are portrayed as optional, they are often enforced as compulsory. The University of Washington encouraged faculty to add a prewritten ‘Indigenous land acknowledgment’ statement to their syllabi. The recommended statement states that ‘The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations.’

Computer science professor Stuart Reges decided to write his own statement. He declared…’I acknowledge that by the labor theory of property the Coast Salish people can claim historical ownership of almost none of the land currently occupied by the University of Washington.’ … He was told that, while the university statement is optional, his statement was unacceptable because it questioned the indigenous land claim of the Coast Salish people. Reges’s dissenting statement was removed, and the university emailed his students offering an apology for their professor’s ‘offensive’ opinion and advising them on ‘three ways students could file complaints against’ him.”

Federal courts have ruled in favor of academics in disputes over microaggression rules, but the movement is expanding beyond campuses, as shown in Oregon.

I have no objection to the sharing of views of others on how certain phrases are received. I have dropped certain terms or phrases even though I did not see why a term or phrase is insulting. When others have a reasoned basis for objecting to language, I err on the side of caution to avoid making others uncomfortable. Yet, this category of speech was created to encompass a broad, ill-defined range of speech that falls below outright discriminatory or harassing language. That makes for a dangerously vague standard for a mandatory reporting rule.

The free speech concern is how such microaggressive terms can be used to curtail or punish speech, including supporting complaints for formal investigations.  Disciplinary actions often seem based on how language is received rather than intended. Schools need to be clear as to whether microaggressive language can be the basis for bias complaints and actions.

Consider again the language from the Oregon Medical Board. It would encompass any “indirect or subtle behaviors that reflect negative attitudes or beliefs about a non-majority group.” The standard is heavily laden with subjectivity. (Notably, it does not include making such comments about any majority group, presumably whites or males).

The board then amplifies the standard by making it mandatory for other doctors to report colleagues. Under the proposed ruled,

“a licensee must report within 10 business days to the Board any information that appears to show that a licensee is or may be medically incompetent or is or may be guilty of unprofessional or dishonorable conduct or is or may be a licensee with a physical incapacity.”

So doctors will have to police any “indirect or subtle behaviors” that “reflect negative attitudes or beliefs” . . . or face discipline themselves.

The hippocratic oath is based on the pledge that doctors will “first do no harm.” Unfortunately, that pledge does not appear to apply to free speech in Oregon. Rather than merely publish opinions on phrases or practices that can be seen as microaggressive, the Oregon Medical Board is about to impose an ambiguous speech regulation that is likely viewed by some doctors as turning them into social-warrior snitches.

The Oregon Medical Board should remove the microaggressive provision. Sometimes the best treatment is the least intrusive.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/snitches-give-stitches-oregon-moves-make-reporting-microaggressions-mandatory-doctors

China accuses U.S. of "malign intention" to discredit its COVID vaccines

 China's embassy in the Philippines accused the U.S. military of "hypocrisy, malign intention and double standards" in response to a report of secret U.S. campaign to undermine confidence in a Chinese vaccines and other aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The remarks made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Tuesday were in response to a Reuters investigative report that said the U.S. military launched a clandestine programme during the COVID pandemic to discredit China's Sinovac inoculation in the Philippines.

The investigation found the U.S. military aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid supplied by China. Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military's propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign, according to the report.

"People around the world are indignant about the U.S. military's actions which lay bare the hypocrisy, malign intention and double standards of the United States," an embassy spokesperson said in a statement.

"While talking about respecting human rights, the United States does just the opposite regarding the fundamental human rights of life and health of the Filipino people."

The U.S. Embassy in Manila referred a request for comment to its Department of Defense.In the Reuters report, a senior Defense Department official acknowledged the U.S. military engaged in secret propaganda to disparage China’s vaccine in the developing world, but the official declined to provide details.

A Pentagon spokeswoman was cited in the report as saying the U.S. military "uses a variety of platforms, including social media, to counter those malign influence attacks aimed at the U.S., allies, and partners." She also said China had started a "disinformation campaign to falsely blame the United States for the spread of COVID-19."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-accuses-u-malign-intention-091459870.html

'Rate of US uninsured to rise to 8.9% in the next decade, Congressional Budget Office says'

 The rate of Americans who are uninsured will rise to 8.9% over the next decade from 7.7% in 2024, driven by rising immigration and reduced eligibility for 19-to-24 year-olds following federal government policy changes, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released on Tuesday.

"We expect the uninsured rate for the immigrants arriving in the surge to be roughly four times the rate for the overall population," said Jessica Hale, an analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, Congress' non-partisan budget agency.

"This is largely the result of eligibility for major federal health programs, which is contingent in part on a person's immigration status," Hale added.

The 2023 termination of a COVID-19 pandemic-era policy requiring states to maintain enrollment for Medicaid recipients and the expiration of additional subsidies on Obamacare plans are expected to erode the percentage of younger adults who are insured.

Most of the decline in uninsured will happen in the next two years. Between 2027 and 2034 the rate of uninsured should stabilize at around 9%, the report said. This figure, representing 32 million people, is lower than pre-pandemic levels due to a projected older U.S. population.

The majority of those above age 65 in the U.S. are covered by Medicare. In 2034, 17 million people aged 19 to 24 are expected to be uninsured, Hale said.

This age group is less likely to be offered employer-sponsored plans and represents a higher portion of undocumented immigrants, who may be ineligible for government-funded plans.

While the Affordable Care Act (ACA), widely known as Obamacare, extends coverage for dependent children to age 26, just 15% of young adults are on their parents employer-sponsored plans, the CBO said.

Enrollment in employer-sponsored plans, the most common form of coverage in the U.S., will grow to 170 million in 2034 from 164 million in 2024, due to lower eligibility for Obamacare subsidies as wage growth expands the middle-income populace.

Enhanced subsidies for plans introduced by the ACA were extended through the Inflation Reduction Act and are expected to expire in 2025. For middle-income households purchasing plans through ACA marketplaces such as HealthCare.gov, this policy provides a tax credit and subsidizes the cost of health insurance premiums.

The rate of uninsured people in the U.S. reached a record low of 7.2% in 2023. In a May report, the CBO projected that 3.8 million Americans would become uninsured as a result of the expiration of marketplace subsidies.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rate-us-uninsured-rise-8-202837354.html

Families of Boeing 737 MAX crash victims ask US to seek $24 billion fine

 Relatives of the victims of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes asked the Justice Department on Wednesday to seek a fine against the planemaker of up to $24.78 billion and move forward with a criminal prosecution.

"Because Boeing’s crime is the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history, a maximum fine of more than $24 billion is

legally justified and clearly appropriate," Paul Cassel, a lawyer representing 15 families, wrote in a letter to the Justice Department released on Wednesday.

The families said the Justice Department could potentially suspend $14 billion to $22 billion of the fine "on the condition that Boeing devote those suspended funds to an independent corporate monitor and related improvements in compliance and safety."

The Justice Department said in May it determined Boeing violated a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that shielded the company from a criminal charge of conspiracy to commit fraud arising from fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.

Boeing last week told the government it did not violate the agreement. Federal prosecutors have until July 7 to inform a federal judge in Texas of their plans, which could be proceeding with a criminal case or negotiating a plea deal with Boeing. The Justice Department could also extend the deferred prosecution agreement for a year.

Justice Department officials found that Boeing violated the deferred prosecution agreement after a panel blew off a new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet on Jan. 5, just two days before the 2021 agreement expired. The incident exposed continued safety and quality issues at Boeing.

In the letter, the families also said Boeing’s board of directors should be ordered to meet with them and the department should "launch criminal prosecutions of the responsible corporate officials at Boeing at the time of the two crashes."

Boeing and the Justice Department did not immediately comment.

The letter noted that Senator Richard Blumenthal,

who chairs the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and held a hearing with Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun on Tuesday, said, "There is near overwhelming evidence in my view as a former prosecutor that prosecution should be pursued."

The two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 MAX planes occurred in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia and led to the best-selling plane's worldwide grounding for 20 months. A safety system called MCAS was linked to both fatal crashes.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/families-boeing-737-max-crash-154526385.html

China to regulate lithium-ion battery industry amid fast expansion

 China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Wednesday issued new guidelines for its lithium-ion battery industry, aiming to transform, upgrade and promote high-quality development amid rapid expansion in the sector.

The guidelines, following a proposal in May, will help firms scale back manufacturing projects that only expand production capacity, while enhancing technology innovation and product quality and trimming output costs, the ministry said.

Projects built on farmland and ecological zones would be required to be shut down, or strictly reined in and gradually removed.

Rapid expansion of production capacity along the lithium battery supply chain has led to a plunge in prices for products, including battery and raw materials, eroding companies' profits in the world's biggest market.

Industry planning and launch of new projects should be in line with national development of resources, ecological protection and energy saving management, the ministry said.

The new guidelines will be effective from Thursday.

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/China-to-regulate-lithium-ion-battery-industry-amid-fast-expansion-46999735/

Ecuador Suspends China Visa Deal Amid Flood Of US-Bound Migrants

 Ecuador is suspending a visa agreement with China amid a "worrying increase" in arrivals who are using the South American country as a jumpoff point to begin their northbound journey to the United States to take advantage of the criminally open border.

Chinese nationals detained at the U.S-Mexico border. U.S. Border Patrol

The mutual visa waiver program between the two countries has been in place since 2016, and grants visa-free travel to Chinese nationals. The only other South American nation with a similar agreement is Suriname.

According to the country's foreign ministry, nearly half of Chinese travelers entering Ecuador did not leave "through regular routes" or within the 90 days allotted, the Financial Times reports.

Many global migrants headed to the US land in Ecuador, which has fewer visa restrictions than other South American countries. The onward journey north includes the Darién Gap, a treacherous tract that separates Colombia and Panama. There, migrants are vulnerable to crime, sexual violence and the hazards of the jungle.

Last year the number of Chinese individuals attempting to enter the US through the southern border skyrocketed - with US Customs and Border Protection detaining over 37,000 Chinese nationals - a 10x increase from 2022.

Around 66,000 Chinese travelers entered Ecuador last year, while just 34,000 left via traditional channels, according to officials.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian gave a milquetoast response to FT, saying that the agreement with Ecuador "plays an important and positive role in promoting cross-border travel and practical co-operation in various fields between the two countries."

Lin added that China is working with other counties to combat human trafficking.

The suspended visa agreement will take effect July 1, according to Ecuadorean officials, who say the country "reiterates its commitment so that people who visit the country can do so with adequate security guarantees, preventing them from being victims of human trafficking or migrant smuggling."

China is Ecuador's largest non-oil trade partner, and has been a key source of financing for infrastructure and energy.

National Security Threat

On June 11, news broke that eight Tajikistan nationals with possible connections to the terrorist group ISIS had been arrested in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles in recent days. Tajikistan nationals were responsible for the March 22 attack on the Crocus City Hall concert near Moscow that left more than 140 people dead and hundreds injured.

The suspects crossed the U.S. southern border illegally in 2023 and were released after being vetted. The federal government’s screening process did not turn up any information that would have identified them as potential terrorists with ties to ISIS.

Last month, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX), who sits on the National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs subcommittee, held a classified hearing in May titled: “Intruder Alert: Assessing the CCP’s Ongoing Infiltration of U.S. Military Installations.”

Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX)

Fallon described what he heard in the closed hearing as concerning.

Dozens of incidents have come to light of Chinese nationals snapping photos near military installations and critical infrastructure such as reservoirs, claiming to be tourists—even when the facilities are rural and isolated, he said.

Border Patrol agent apprehends a large group of mostly Chinese illegal migrants in Jucumba, CA on June 6, 2024. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

As the Epoch Times notes, Fallon mentioned that Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle said in a recent interview that incidents of foreign nationals from China and Russia trying to breach Navy bases occur “two or three times a week.”

“There are some folks in positions of authority and power that want to stick their heads in the sand and say, ‘Oh, there’s nothing here,’” he said.

It could be that the Chinese are probing how the United States responds and how close they can get to bases, he said.

That information would be critical, for example, should there be a conflict between China and the United States over Taiwan.

While the majority of Chinese nationals coming into the United States may be looking for a better life, even if 1 percent were communist “sleeper agents,” that would give Beijing about 480 operatives, he said.

Mr. Fallon said he doesn’t think the record-breaking number of Chinese nationals entering the United States illegally is an accident.

“That is a sky-high number when you consider under the Trump administration, it was under 1,000,” he said.

In fiscal year 2020, Border Patrol agents apprehended 554 Chinese illegal immigrants nationwide, according to government data.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ecuador-suspends-china-visa-deal-amid-flood-us-bound-migrants